Ted Lasso's Piggy Stardust Was A Nod To Brendan Hunt's Real-Life Past
Season 3 of "Ted Lasso" has been a bit of a mixed bag depending on who you talk to. Some are loving it (me), some are hating it (a lot of others), but no one can deny that the show does best when it highlights the more memorable little moments that make it so special. In fact, episode 6, when the team played away in Amsterdam, was one of the best thus far on that front, mostly thanks to writer-star Brendan Hunt.
Hunt opened up to YouTuber Kyle Meredith about writing the episode, and he revealed that there were elements of the episode that stemmed from his own personal experience in the European city. He said:
"The Amsterdam episode is meant to touch on a bunch of things that can happen to anyone in Amsterdam. You know, finding creativity, finding yourself, finding a friend on a bike ride. But it's also specific to certain things I did and found in my time there. And one thing I did was I got a band together and I Aladdin Saned out and we performed the entire Ziggy Stardust album. So that was a nod to that, and then at the last minute Jason goes, 'And a pig nose.' And I'm like, 'And a pig nose. Alright! Anybody got a pig nose? Oh you got one, OK great!' And now we're, you know, we're one half-hour writing session away from a spin-off!"
The magic of a one-night stay
In the Amsterdam episode, each character has a somewhat unreplicable experience during their overnight stay. For Rebecca, it's a whirlwind romance. For Roy and Jamie, it's a chance to build a true bond ... and learn to ride a stolen bike. For Ted, it's an opportunity to see things differently through the gift of self-reflection. It makes sense that Beard's evening would include something as singular as performing in a "Piggy Stardust" cover band with a bunch of non-English speaking locals.
Hunt's character is now known for this kind of wacky behavior, which really came to full light in the season 2 episode "Beard After Hours." Obviously, it was written to resemble the 1985 Scorsese film, but it highlighted a quality about Beard that had long since been implied: recklessness. Mind you, this is "Ted Lasso," so it's all ultimately light-hearted to a degree, but the point still stands. Beard is nuts, and he is quick to end up in the craziest place you could think of, or, really, not think of.
It's no surprise that Hunt seems to be as wild in his real life as he is as Ted's partner in crime, and it's extra fun that it bleeds into not only the character's small nuances but also the show's trajectories at large. In fact, the "Ted Lasso" crew does pretty well with a bit of chaos—better than they get credit for.
"Ted Lasso" is available to stream now on Apple TV+.